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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Professors, strategists, writers and experts in the political field are gathering Saturday at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center to discuss the recent midterm election and their expectations for the 2012 races.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Over the past two decades, Florida cattle ranchers have spent as much as $16 million a year doing battle with an invasive weed called tropical soda apple, known as TSA, that takes over pastures, elbowing out the forage grasses ranchers need for their cattle.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Misaligned research, medical challenges and harsh economics are thwarting efforts to slow the destructive course of Alzheimer's disease in the United States, according to a trio of nationally regarded Alzheimer’s researchers writing a "Perspective" in Thursday’s (Jan. 27) issue of the journal Neuron.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida students are invited to express their passion in a two-dimensional piece of art that can be entered in a contest to be judged during the next Museum Nights at the Harn Museum of Art.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians soared an unexpected seven points to 77 in January from the revised December index score of 70, according to a new University of Florida survey.

A ten percent jump in consumer confidence suggests Floridians are feeling better about the economy and their own finances. The University of Florida’s latest index of statewide consumer moods registered that surge even as unemployment remains at near record highs.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida students are invited to express their passion in a two-dimensional piece of art that can be entered in a contest to be judged during the next Museum Nights at the Harn Museum of Art.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Students scared of the thinning job market will be relieved to hear that this week’s University of Florida Career Showcase is expected to bring as many employers as last spring to campus.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Police Department has been selected to act in a mentor role to help other law enforcement agencies across the country improve their responses to people with mental illnesses.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida has secured a four-year, $7.9 million award to lead a unique new collaboration among experts in the U.S. and Brazil to improve agriculture and food security in the African nation of Mozambique.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The difficult task of sorting and counting prized stem cells and their cancer-causing cousins has long frustrated scientists looking for new ways to help people who have progressive diseases.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Most people wouldn’t be inclined to show a passion for insects, but in a state that is home to several major seaports and provides a year-round climate where, on the average, a new species of insect is introduced each month, one Floridian in particular is very interested.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The co-chairmen of the presidential commission investigating last April’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will present their exclusive findings Jan. 27 at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida-led group of international scientists has assembled the genome sequences for two citrus varieties—sweet orange and Clementine mandarin — marking a first for citrus.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A four-part public speaker series on rebuilding Haiti begins Monday at the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Caleb and Michele Grimes Conference on Liberal Arts and Public Affairs will address how Haiti’s unique historical, geographic, and social features have shaped current crises in the country.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Will your Facebook or Twitter profile help you or hinder you from getting a job? Teens will find out the answer to this question and more through the second annual “Day in the Real World: College Edition” student conference hosted by University of Florida’s College Reach-Out Program and Students in Free Enterprise.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tiny threatened shorebirds on Florida’s west coast not only survive hurricanes, they seem to benefit from the storms’ aftereffects, according to new research findings that contradict conventional wisdom.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — “NORA,” a swiftly moving poem of sound and image produced by University of Florida Fine Arts faculty member and Center for World Arts Director Joan Frosch, will be shown next week on 119 Public Broadcasting Service stations.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When treating an eating disorder, exercise is rarely considered therapeutic; it’s more likely to be viewed as dangerous for patients already obsessed with their weight. But a new University of Florida study shows that the psychological benefits of exercise could be used as an intervention for — or even a way to prevent — eating disorders.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have received four grants totaling almost $4.7 million to develop therapies for improving the health and quality of life of people with hemophilia.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of the most forceful and provocative feminist critics challenging Islam today, will discuss her views on the state of Muslim women in the United States and around the world during a visit to the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service on Jan. 20.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study following the evolution of lice shows modern humans started wearing clothes about 170,000 years ago, a technology which enabled them to successfully migrate out of Africa.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Blue sharks are strong enough to cross the Southern Atlantic Ocean but need human protection at their destinations and points of departure, a University of Florida collaborative international tagging project finds.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — HIV experts at the University of Florida, along with colleagues at the University of South Florida and the University of California, San Diego, have been awarded $4.7 million by the National Institutes of Health to study how the complex interplay between marijuana use and HIV infection can influence the development of neurological disorders in adolescents.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The art of origami transforms the two dimensionality of paper into breathable representations of mathematical concepts. A new exhibit titled “Origami: Folding and Unfolding Mathematical Concepts” explores these ideas through a series of paper creations by University of Florida Honors Program students.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Professor Melvin I. Urofsky will deliver a lecture on the diverse life of Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, at noon Feb. 2 at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Holland Hall Room 180.

Win Phillips, vice president for research, and David Day, director of the Office of Technology Licensing, were quoted in a Jan. 1 Florida Trend story about being the science and innovation Florida Newsmakers of the Year.

Gambling has become one of America’s favorite forms of entertainment. Bettors are expected to wager 100 million dollars on the Super Bowl this year. But if wagering gets out of hand, win or lose, gambling can prove to be a bed bet. In addition to risking financial loss, people who develop too much of a taste for betting excitement could come to enjoy it too much. But University of Florida researchers say there are warning signs of a gambling problem.

Fred Gmitter, a citrus geneticist, breeder and genomic researcher, was quoted in a Jan. 17 Miami Herald story about the sequencing of the sweet orange and the Clementine mandarin. The story was the result of an IFAS news release.

Archaeologist Augusto Oyuela was quoted in a Jan. 12 National Public Radio story about archaeologists discovering that the Amazon was once home to much larger, advanced civilizations. See related News Bureau release.

Elliott Jacobson, a professor of veterinary medicine, was quoted in a Jan. 8 New York Times story about the anger snake owners are expressing toward a government proposal to ban the importation and interstate transportation of nine species of foreign snakes.

Journalism professor John Kaplan was featured in an Oct. 15 Orlando Sentinel story about his documentary, “Not As I Pictured,” which depicts his journey through cancer treatment. The documentary will be screened during the Orlando Film Festival, Nov. 3-7.

Thomas Hoctor, director of the Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, was quoted in a Jan. 2 Orlando Sentinel story about a conservation group’s efforts to raise awareness for black bear habitats.

Barton Weitz, executive director emeritus of the David F. Miller Retailing Education and Research Center, was quoted in a Jan. 14 Palm Beach Post story about U.S. retail sales going up but still not reaching expectations.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The “Splendor” benefit series held annually by the University of Florida Friends of Theatre and Dance has proven to be a welcome change from the standard approach to benefits by various local committees.

Roxanne Connelly, a professor at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, was quoted in a July 30 St. Petersburg Times story about the second death in Hillsborough County in July from eastern equine encephalitis.

Roberto Pereira, an associate research scientist, was quoted in a Jan. 18 Tampa Tribune story about the growing number of bedbug infestations due to increased international travel and resistance to certain insecticides.

Finance professor Jay Ritter was quoted in a Jan. 14 Wall Street Journal story about how Goldman Sachs wasn’t the first company to procure shares in Facebook Inc. A link is unavailable because the Journal is by subscription only.